Ahead of the 2025/26 season, young defenders Beth Roberts and Abbi Jenner have become the latest Wolves Women players to sign contracts with the club.
The exciting duo have put pen-to-paper on part-time contracts as part of the club’s ambition to retain talent and take further steps to progress its hybrid model, with manager Dan McNamara hopeful of tying more members of his squad to contracts during the summer.
The news follows McNamara himself committing his future to the club last week, as the manager fronts a new and exciting era for the women’s first-team and pathway programme, which will see the women’s section continue to grow, on and off the pitch.
McNamara said: “I’m delighted to tie both Beth and Abbi down to contracts. It’s a real statement for the club. We want to keep our best players, our young players, and we want to get them committed to the football club.
“In addition to the three that we offered out last year [to Anna Morphet, Tammi George and Katie Johnson], it’s great to get the next two over the line. They are two great people and two great players, and I know the fans will certainly be happy.
“It’s been made possible by the chairman and the new director of recruitment and player development, Matt Jackson. They’ve navigated us through a difficult period, and now they’ve put down some real markers for us, and some real ambition moving forward – which excited me.
“Hopefully these two are going to be the start of many more, and it’s going to be an exciting few weeks, getting various people in and bringing in some new energy ready for the new season. But the first thing was to get those players who’ve represented the club so well over the last few years tied down.
“We’ve got to make sure they’re committed and ready to play for the new season, and then on top of that, we always have to add so hopefully we can really put together a good group ready to hit the ground running and hopefully push the top end of the table.”
Roberts and Jenner have established themselves as important players since their arrivals at the club from Stoke City and Birmingham City respectively, with full-back Roberts featuring more than 70 times during the past two-and-a-half seasons.
The 24-year-old has been a regular under McNamara down the left side of defence, and after contributing at both ends of the pitch, she has also found the net five times, including in a Black Country derby win at the Hawthorns.
“The way Beth conducts herself, she’s everything that Wolves is about,” McNamara said. “With her on-pitch performances, she’s developed into one of the finest left-backs in the National League. She’s still hungry to get above and she wants to test herself in WSL2, and she’s certainly going in the right way for that.
“She’s the life and soul, but always ready to give it all on and off the pitch, so I’m delighted to be working with Beth for another 12 months.”
Jenner spent the 2024/25 FAWNL Northern Premier Division season on loan at Wolves from WSL2 outfit Birmingham City but has now made her move across the West Midlands permanent by signing her first contract in Old Gold.
The 20-year-old centre-back impressed in her debut season in senior women’s football as she turned out 29 times in gold and black, while also scoring twice, and McNamara is thrilled to have signed the promising young talent to the club.
“Another player I’m delighted with,” McNamara added, “and another young player, and I think that’s the direction the chairman wants to go in, because you want to keep the best young talent around here and tie them down to the football club to show the ambition moving forward.
“I rewind 12 months ago to when AJ made her debut around this time against Cheltenham, and from that moment on, we were always thinking about what does the next season and the season after that look like? To get her tied down to her first contract with the club, off the back of all her experiences that she’s had at Birmingham City, is brilliant for the football club.
“We know what quality she brings – she’s a fan’s favourite, and I’m sure they’ll be delighted as we are.”
